A massive fire late on Monday, January 19 destroyed a large portion of the AJ Anich Lumber – Pal Steel Company on Third Street near Highway 59 in Palmyra. An off-duty police officer first saw smoke coming from the business and called emergency services at about 11:48 p.m.

The extreme cold temperatures caused firefights to upgrade the response to a four-alarm fire, bringing in 30 fire trucks from Dane, Jefferson, Walworth, and Waukesha counties.

“We had multiple departments respond to help us out,” said Dylan Callas, deputy chief of the Palmyra Fire Department. “The cold weather definitely made things more challenging for our crews, but everyone worked together effectively.” Fire officials indicated that the fire was one of the worst in the past decade.

Company officials said staff will move operations to another facility while investigators determine the cause of the fire.

Firefighters remained on scene until 11:05 a.m. on Tuesday, using a backhoe to knock out remaining hot spots from the blaze. No injuries were reported among civilians or firefighters despite the size of the fire.

The cause of the fire has not yet been announced.

Further information is provided in the press release below.